oftware Engineer, AV Launch – Early Career

General Motors; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 119,000 - 154,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors is seeking an early‑career Software Engineer to join the AV Launch team in Sunnyvale, CA. You will design, implement, test, and operate services that manage autonomous driving software on GM vehicles, spanning embedded systems, distribution, and vehicle hardware integration.

Collaborate with experienced engineers across the lifecycle, from requirements through production, and contribute to dependable, observable, and maintainable systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, master's, or PhD in STEM, graduation within past 9 months.
• Strong C++ and Python development experience.
• Experience in a Linux environment.
• Solid fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, OS, concurrency, and computer architecture.
• Ability to debug complex software and communicate in a collaborative team.
• Interest in autonomous vehicles, robotics or high-performance software.

Responsibilities

• Build on-vehicle services that provision, launch, and monitor autonomous vehicle software in development and production workflows.
• Develop frameworks to configure autonomy software for a variety of hardware platforms, simulation environments and use cases.
• Develop systems to monitor vehicle status and reliability.
• Collaborate with experienced engineers to ramp up on AV software, embedded systems, and production practices.
• Grow through progressively more complex assignments across design, implementation, integration, and testing.

Skills

C++

Python

Linux

Data Structures

Algorithms

Operating Systems

Concurrency

Communication

Education

Bachelor's in STEM

Tools

Robotics middleware

Job description

Job Description

About the Team

The AV Launch team builds the software foundation that brings GM’s autonomous driving capabilities to life on the vehicle. We configure, deploy, launch, and monitor the applications that make up the autonomy stack, developing onboard services that orchestrate vehicle activities from startup through shutdown. We are part of GM’s Autonomous Vehicle Platform Core team, delivering the core software frameworks that enable other teams and major vehicle systems. We own critical platform capabilities that include software deployment, application configuration and lifecycle management, vehicle power and software modes, and observability systems. Our systems span embedded vehicle platforms, manufacturing lines, developer infrastructure, cloud services, and simulation. We support internal data collection fleets and production vehicles, and partner closely with platform teams and autonomy developers to solve complex problems.

About the Role

As an early career Software Engineer on the AV Launch team, you will design, implement, test, and operate the services that reliably manage autonomous driving software on GM vehicles. You will work across the software lifecycle: from understanding requirements and defining platform behavior to building production-quality services, integrating with vehicle hardware, validating behavior on benches and vehicles, and diagnosing issues in real-world environments.

This role is designed for a recent graduate or engineer early in their career who wants to build depth in embedded systems, distributed software, vehicle platforms, and autonomous driving technology. You will learn from experienced engineers while contributing meaningful code to systems that must be dependable, observable, and maintainable. You will develop a systems-level perspective as you learn how individual services, devices, and vehicle states interact. Over time, you will turn that understanding into clear abstractions and design guidance that inform how other developers build vehicle software.

What You’ll Do

• Build on-vehicle services that provision, launch, and monitor autonomous vehicle software in development and production workflows.
• Build frameworks to configure autonomy software for a wide variety of hardware platforms, simulation environments, and use cases.
• Develop systems and frameworks to monitor vehicle status and reliability.
• Work alongside experienced engineers to ramp up on AV software, embedded systems, and the production engineering practices required to support autonomous driving at scale.
• Grow through progressively more complex assignments spanning design, implementation, integration, and testing.

Required Qualifications

• Recently completed a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD degree in a STEM field. For completed degrees, graduation must have occurred within the past 9 months.
• Strong background in C++ and Python development, demonstrated through coursework, internships, research, or substantial projects.
• Experience developing in a Linux environment.
• Strong grasp of software fundamentals including data structures, algorithms, operating systems, concurrency, and computer architecture.
• Ability to debug complex software problems, reason about system behavior, and communicate clearly in a collaborative team environment.
• Interest in autonomous vehicles, robotics, embedded systems, or high-performance software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with robotics middleware platforms and related concepts, such as inter-process communication or logging.
• Prior internship, research, or project experience in autonomous driving, robotics, embedded systems, AI/ML infrastructure, or platform software.
• Graduation between December2025 and August2026, with availability to begin employment in2026.

Location:

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to our Sunnyvale,CA office location at least3times a week. This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

Compensation:

The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of NewYork, Colorado, California, or Washington. The salary range for this role: is$119,250to$153,900. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

About GM

Our vision is a world with ZeroCrashes, ZeroEmissions and ZeroCongestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day– individually and collectively– to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one GeneralMotors team.

Benefits Overview

From day one, we’re looking out for your well‑being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting TotalRewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

GeneralMotors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

Accommodations

GeneralMotors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Learn more about:

Our Company Our Culture How we hire Our diverse team of employees bring their collective passion for engineering, technology and design to deliver on our vision of a world with ZeroCrashes, ZeroEmissions and ZeroCongestion. We are looking for adventure‑seekers and imaginative thought leaders to help us transform mobility. Explore our global locations We are determined to lead change for the world through technology, ingenuity and harnessing the creativity of our diverse team. Join us to help lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all by becoming a member of GM’s Talent Community (beamery.com).